Trooping with Prop Weapons --- what about the police?

[RoseCity_Trooper]

Hello all,

This topic may have been addressed, and if so, I do apologize and I would appreciate a redirect to the thread.

Considering all of the recent public attention on gun violence and unfortunate encounters between the public and the police, has anyone had any thoughts to share regarding potential risks/hazards of trooping in public while carrying their prop weapons?

I'm thinking about possible problems while trooping with an E-11.  I wonder if it would be an issue if it was in a holster or if I was holding it.  We all know that it's a prop, but the authorities might not, and members of the public might not, either.

What do you all think?  Has anyone had experience with this?

Thanks!

[vader55th]

A few years ago at the Grants Pass Iguana comic troop there was a guy who was dressed as The Punisher waving his "prop" shotgun around (even then it wasn't the brightest idea) people driving saw it and next thing we knew there were a couple of officers who showed up and I think they detained him until they figured out what was going on. From that point troopers who had holsters utilized them and those who didn't such as myself left our blasters in the changing room. since that time there has not been any other similar problems like that at the Iguana comic troop. Does anyone who was there remember that?  Interesting troop..........

[NavySith]

I haven't had any problems with either my blaster or rifle as a clone, cons I've gotten the safety bans everything else no problems we just get the authorization from the event contact if there might be a question.

Sent from Kamino using Tapatalk

[Leia8674]

no problems - we have pretend blasters

[Daverian]

I noticed on the Mandalorian Mercs forum a warning was issued by Alex (leader of the the Seron Clan and police officer) to only carry weapons when necessary. Parades and such. Bummer it is coming to this. Every year I organized the Seaside troop, I would contact Leiutenant David Ham to make sure the weapons wouldn't be an issue. He always assured me that if people had a problem with it it was their problem.   

[Quick2]

I always ask permission and contact local community event organizers if they would be allowed just to not cause a stir.   So far no issues, but They like that we ask to make sure.  I have told troopers at certain events to holster props.

[Kol Hokan]

I noticed on the Mandalorian Mercs forum a warning was issued by Alex (leader of the the Seron Clan and police officer) to only carry weapons when necessary. Parades and such. Bummer it is coming to this. Every year I organized the Seaside troop, I would contact Leiutenant David Ham to make sure the weapons wouldn't be an issue. He always assured me that if people had a problem with it it was their problem.   

Mercs command put out a catch-all warning about carrying weapons in public venues.  My assessment of the original post is simply a necessary public announcement that removes all blame from the Mercs as an organization should one member fowl up.  We live in a country that loves to sue the pants off people, and any of the SW clubs don't have the resources to survive a suit - nor would Disney/Lucasfilm put up with one.  So in the event of a member getting in trouble, the Mercs as an entity can say, "Oh but we told him not to, it's not our fault. He was out of policy."  No one actually is going to stop carrying weapons any time soon - it's just a legal play on words.

That said, we always practice safe firearms handling despite our blasters being nothing more than glorified pieces of wood, resin, and/or plastic.  And we always check with event organizers about weapons beforehand.  Take NewCon this weekend for example.  I attended with no weapons.  Of course, I got my shebs handed to me when I ran into a pair of Jedi, but such is the life of a mando!

EDIT:
This is the message the Mercs put out:

Dear Members,

After several discussions with third parties and growing concerns on weapons that we come to you with the following issued warnings.

It has come to our attention that there have been instances of people being shot by Police whilst carrying orange tipped weapons, in effect, the orange tip is not a deterrent for lethal force.

As it is our duty to ensure the welfare of our club members, we are offering the following advice.

1. Never, ever carry your weapon out in public unless absolutely necessary (i.e. parade, etc.).
2. Keep your weapons locked away in your packing trunk.
3. Always use the Convention safety tags *clearly* displayed on your weapon.

From today, the Applications team will now be alerting members to the dangers of their weapon by assigning weapons deemed to be ultra realistic a "Con or Cosplay only" tag. This will mean that the club will only support you as long as you keep your weapon out of public viewing in an attempt to pre-warn members of the risks of being part on an incident that could be harmful to our members or cause a scare that we could have easily avoided.

Costuming is fun, but it also has its risks, please use common sense and better judgement when carrying weapons.

~The Council